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France: Best place in the world to live

post #1 of 24
2/11/10 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
According to International Living Magazine:

France scores high marks across the board in the survey, which is done every January, from health care (100 points) to infrastructure (92 points) to safety and risk (100 points).
"No surprise," said the magazine in its report. "Its (France's) tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes are outweighed by an unsurpassable quality of life, including the world's best health care."
"The bread, the cheese, the wine," Dan Prescher, special projects editor at the magazine, told CNN, when asked why France just keeps on winning year after year. "That weighs pretty heavily in quality of life."


http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe...ex.html?hpt=T2
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post #2 of 24
2/11/10 at 2:17pm
Let's go, mon ami! I'm ready today.

Every man [and woman] has two countries, his own and France.

--Thomas Jefferson
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post #3 of 24
2/12/10 at 12:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilybelle View Post

Let's go, mon ami! I'm ready today.

Every man [and woman] has two countries, his own and France.

--Thomas Jefferson

Lilybelle- I'll meet you at Charles de Gaulle airport . We'll bring empty suitcases and go on a perfume binge. Or / Then we can settle outside of Paris and live on gorgeous fresh baguettes and french bread, croissants and fruits de mer,wafting fine french perfume and drink a ton of good wine. ( I'd better bring the french phrase book )
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post #4 of 24
2/12/10 at 6:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticknot View Post

Lilybelle- I'll meet you at Charles de Gaulle airport . We'll bring empty suitcases and go on a perfume binge. Or / Then we can settle outside of Paris and live on gorgeous fresh baguettes and french bread, croissants and fruits de mer,wafting fine french perfume and drink a ton of good wine. ( I'd better bring the french phrase book )

Oh absolutely, M! (sigh!) Let's get a little pied-a-terre in Paris, and a farmhouse in the countryside, too. I'm really a country girl at heart, even though my favorite city is Paris. The very best of both worlds. Is that too greedy?
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post #5 of 24
2/12/10 at 10:14am
A strike of some sort every other month by frontline service staff certainly adds to the charm, I'm sure...
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post #6 of 24
2/12/10 at 10:26am
I don't remember who said it, but "France would be a great country to live in if it weren't for all the French people in it", lol.

Not my personal sentiments FYI. I love France, Paris somewhat, more the countryside. And the language. But I do see why they sometimes get a "bad rap"
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post #7 of 24
2/12/10 at 10:54am
Well, if I'd be living somewhere in Grasse or close to the Guerlain or Creed boutique, it would almost certainly be THE place to live
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post #8 of 24
2/12/10 at 12:33pm
I guess it's true, if you don't live in the Banlieu.
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post #9 of 24
2/12/10 at 1:50pm
Spoilsports.
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post #10 of 24
2/12/10 at 2:14pm
  • kbe
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..excuse me, I have to sneeeeze!.....ahhhhhhhh!B&@#$*it... ::sniff::
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post #11 of 24
2/12/10 at 2:32pm
I lived and worked in France for 4 years. I quite enjoyed it.
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post #12 of 24
2/12/10 at 5:02pm
France is a great country... I have French blood in me that's why France holds a special place in my heart, it's just a shame Parisian's can sometimes give the country a bad rep... but every country has it's negative's I suppose but the positives certainly out weigh the negatives when talking about France! Great country, great place to live.
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post #13 of 24
2/13/10 at 6:50am
I lived in NYC for many years, so I immediately felt right at home in Paris and with Parisians, only more so. I always had a great time in Paris. Seriously! I don't understand this "reputation" Parisians are supposed to have. I've only been there three times, but each time I hated to go back home. Perhaps they were just humoring the tourists, but I thought they were lovely - kind, humorous, helpful.
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post #14 of 24
2/13/10 at 10:11am
Maybe you're one gorgeous belle, lillybelle...
But it's true, accordng to a documentary I once saw, people tend to be more helpful towards those who are easier on the eye...
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post #15 of 24
2/13/10 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diamondflame View Post

Maybe you're one gorgeous belle, lillybelle...
But it's true, accordng to a documentary I once saw, people tend to be more helpful towards those who are easier on the eye...

Not so (blush)! But I am good at playing helpless, and the Parisians enjoy being helpful. It's true! It's the same with New Yorkers. They're brusque with each other, but kind to visitors as a rule.
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post #16 of 24
2/13/10 at 11:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vojskovođa View Post

...it's just a shame Parisian's can sometimes give the country a bad rep...

This comment is pretty much akin to my experience visiting Paris last September. Honestly, (and without wishing to offend anyone), we couldn't wait to leave.
In contrast, I expect that some of the rural areas would be absolutely heavenly to stay!
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post #17 of 24
2/13/10 at 1:36pm
I've only taken two trips abroad, and both times were to France. We focused on the wine and other agricultural and/or historical areas. My favorite areas were the Rhone valley, Burgundy, Provence, Alsace, Dordogne, and the Midi-Pyrenees region. We found the people to be wonderful, if a little more reserved than the west coast US folk that I'm used to. Of course we were truly interested in learning about the places we visited, and were more than willing to humble ourselves trying to communicate. :-)

I suppose it's funny to have been to France twice, but never to Paris. We'd like to go back to see the areas we haven't seen: Paris, the Loire Valley, Normandy, and Brittany. I have a feeling that Brittany, particularly, will appeal to me.

Great country, IMO!
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post #18 of 24
2/13/10 at 2:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilybelle View Post

Let's go, mon ami! I'm ready today.

Every man [and woman] has two countries, his own and France.

--Thomas Jefferson


" And Jerry Lewis just has France. "---Mort Sahl
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post #19 of 24
2/13/10 at 6:04pm
France is where I live in my dreams.
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post #20 of 24
2/14/10 at 3:39am
Anyone remember " My Father" by Judy Collins?

My father always promised us
That we would live in France
We'd go boating on the Seine
And I would learn to dance

*sigh*

To France, and to all the lands of dreams . . .

Mario
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post #21 of 24
2/14/10 at 4:44am
I've spent a decent amount of time both working and vacationing in Paris, and can say in all honesty it is one of my absolute favorite cities. This may not be completely true for someone who lacks facility with the French language, however. Also, I was always there as an American citizen, and I'm sure it's not really possible to evaluate the full experience of living there without being a French citizen.
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post #22 of 24
2/14/10 at 5:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilybelle View Post

Oh absolutely, M! (sigh!) Let's get a little pied-a-terre in Paris, and a farmhouse in the countryside, too. I'm really a country girl at heart, even though my favorite city is Paris. The very best of both worlds. Is that too greedy?

Nope ,not at all greedy ! I want the same thing too ! Paris when we want it, country life when we want it- perfect. The Good Life !
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post #23 of 24
2/14/10 at 5:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunani View Post

I have a feeling that Brittany, particularly, will appeal to me.

Great country, IMO!

Let me recommend I'll Never Be French by Mark Greenside. It's a long and entertaining story but he's an American (the US variety) who bought a home in the small village of Plobien in Brittany when he spoke almost no French. He spends the academic year teaching in the US and his summers in Plobien. The attraction, for him, was not the food or the wine or the perfumes - it was the French people. "Everyone I've met has done right by me. I want to do the same with them. It's one of the things I like about being in France, it brings out the best in me, and always surprises me - and even when I think it won't be good for me, it is. It's a lesson I forget and relearn every day."

(Based on the cover photo, you do not have to be beautiful to be treated well in Brittany )
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post #24 of 24
2/14/10 at 10:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ECaruthers View Post

Let me recommend I'll Never Be French by Mark Greenside. It's a long and entertaining story but he's an American (the US variety) who bought a home in the small village of Plobien in Brittany when he spoke almost no French. He spends the academic year teaching in the US and his summers in Plobien. The attraction, for him, was not the food or the wine or the perfumes - it was the French people. "Everyone I've met has done right by me. I want to do the same with them. It's one of the things I like about being in France, it brings out the best in me, and always surprises me - and even when I think it won't be good for me, it is. It's a lesson I forget and relearn every day."

Thanks for the recommendation! That sounds like a very appealing read!

You all have me wanting to plan a trip.
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